Automatic nut cracker apparatus

ABSTRACT

Disclosed in an automatic nut cracker apparatus which is utilized in cracking nuts. This apparatus has a base member to which is attached an anvil block, plunger housing and lock assembly. The anvil block is slidably attached to the base by means of an elongated guide which slides in a groove which extends the length of the base. A countersunk portion is provided on one side of the anvil block for contacting a nut. A transparent shield is mounted to slide on the anvil block and is urged in a direction to a retracted position by a coil spring. Extending from one side of the plunger housing is a hammer which has a second countersunk portion for contacting a nut. This hammer is forced to move in the direction toward the anvil block by means of a plunger core and solenoid mounted within the plunger housing. A coil spring has one end attached to the plunger core and the other end attached to a lever of the lock assembly so that the lever will lock the guide member in position when the plunger core is moved by the solenoid coil. A switch is provided on the plunger housing which is closed when the shield is moved into position to automatically actuate the cracking operation and lock the apparatus in the desired position during the cracking operation.

United States Patent [1 1 Powell [451 Oct. 15, 1974 1 1 AUTOMATIC NUT CRACKER APPARATUS [76] Inventor: Leroy H. Powell, 8647 Wingate,

Dallas, Tex. 75209 221 Filed: Aug. 24, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 283,379

Primary Examinerl-larvey C. Hornsby Attorney, Agent, or Firm Richards, Harris & Medlock [57] ABSTRACT Disclosed in an automatic nut cracker apparatus which is utilized in cracking nuts. This apparatus has a base member to which is attached an anvil block, plunger housing and lock assembly. The anvil block is slidably attached to the base by means of an elongated guide which slides in a groove which extends the length of the base. A countersunk portion is provided on one side of the anvil block for contacting a nut. A transparent shield is mounted to slide on the anvil block and is urged in a direction to a retracted position by a coil spring. Extending from one side of the plunger housing is a hammer which has a second countersunk portion for contacting a nut. This hammer is forced to move in the direction toward the anvil block by means of a plunger core and solenoid mounted within the plunger housing. A coil spring has one end attached to the plunger core and the other end attached to a lever of the lock assembly so that 3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures The present invention relates generally to improvements in nut cracking apparatus and the like, and more particularly to a new and improved nut cracking apparatus wherein the apparatus is actuated by means of a switch which is closed when the safety shield is in the correct position and wherein the various parts are movable to allow insertion and removal of nuts of various sizes, and wherein these movable parts are locked in position upon initiation of the cracking operation.

In the design and operation of the nut cracking apparatus, it has been general practice to employ automatically operated apparatus to perform the nut cracking operation. Although such devices have served their purpose, they have not proven entirely satisfactory under all conditions of service for the reason that considerable difficulty has been experienced in quickly and simply adjusting the apparatus to accommodate various sizes and shapes of nuts. In addition, difficulties have been encountered in the projection of portions of the shell of the nut from the cracking apparatus thus causing a risk of injury to individuals operating the apparatus.

The general purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic nut cracking apparatus which embraces all the advantages of similarly employed prior art devices and possesses none of the aforedescribed disadvantages. To attain this, the present invention contemplates the use of an improved arrangement wherein the safety shield when moved to the proper position initiates operation of the nut cracker and wherein the relative distance between the cracking jaws can be quickly and simply adjusted and automatically locked into position upon actuation of the nut cracker.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved nut cracking apparatus.

Another object is to provide an improved nut cracking apparatus which is safe in operation.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved nut cracker apparatus which is easy and quick to adjust to various sizes of nuts.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved nut cracker apparatus which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and operate.

Other objects and many of the intended advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the improved electric nut cracker apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a section of the apparatus taken on line 22 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the appara tus in a different operative position during the cracking operation;

FIG. 4 is a section of the device taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 5 is a section of the device .taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 the improved nut cracker apparatus of the present invention, which for purposes of illustration is designated by reference numeral 10. This nut cracker apparatus 10 comprises a rigid elongated base plate 12 having a rectangular cross section groove 14 therein extending the length thereof. A plunger housing 16 is attached to the base plate 12 by means of fasteners 18 which extend through openings in flanges 20 and into the base plate 12. The plunger housing 16 is positioned approximately in the center of the length of the base plate 12 and is attached thereto so that it extends over the groove 14.

A lock assembly 22 is attached to the base plate 12 adjacent one end thereof to extend over the groove 14 as will be hereinafter described in more detail. An anvil block 24 is attached to an elongated guide 26 to allow the anvil block to be positioned as desired on the base plate 12. This guide 26 is of a size and shape to slide in the groove 14. In addition, the groove is such a size that the guide 26 will slide under the plunger housing 16 without interfering therewith and can be locked in lateral position by means of lock assembly 22, as will be hereinafter described.

Referring now in particular to FIGS. 2 and 3, the improved nut cracker apparatus l0 is shown in partial section with a nut 28 shown held in position ready for cracking. As can be seen, the anvil block 24 consists of a solid block of lightweight low inertia material which has a countersunk portion or first jaw means 30 formed in one side thereof for receiving one end of the nut 28 therein. In the preferred embodiment the block 24 is constructed from wood material but it is to be understood of course that other lightweight materials could be used to reduce the inertia of the block. As has been previously described, anvil block 24 is attached to the guide 26 so that anvil block 24 will slide laterally along the surface of base plate 12 in the direction of arrow 32. This lateral movement of the anvil block 24 permits the insertion of nuts 28 of various sizes between the plunger housing 16 and anvil block 24.

Slidably attached to the exterior of the anvil block 24 is a shield 34. This shield 34 is channel shaped and constructed from a suitable durable transparent material such as plexiglass to allow viewing of the nut during cracking operation while preventing portions of the nut 28 from flying from the apparatus. The shield 34 is constructed so that it will fit over the anvil block 24 as shown and is resiliently held in the retracted position shown in FIG. 2 by means of a tension coil spring 36 which is attached between pin 38 on the anvil block and pin 40 on the shield. The spring 36 has a sufficient flexibility so that the shield 34 can be moved on the block 24 to the position shown in FIG. 3 with a shield covering the area in which the nut is cracked. In addition, the shield 34 is so constructed that an operator may selectively engage and close a switch 42 when it is in the position shown in FIG. 3 to energize the nut cracking apparatus.

The plunger housing 16 is shown as having an interior chamber 44 which in the present embodiment is cylindrical shaped. Mounted within the chamber 44 is an electrical coil 46 which upon the application of electrical power by the switch 42 will generate a magnetic field. Mounted in sliding engagement within the interior of the electrical coil 46 is a plunger 48 which is constructed from permanent magnet material. This plunger is cylindrical in shape to conform to the interior of the chamber 44 and has an axially extending arm portion 50 which when the plunger is inserted in the chamber 44 will extend through an opening 52 at one end of the chamber 44.

When the coil 46 is energized the plunger 48 will be actuated to move through the chamber in the direction of arrow 54 from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG. 3. Mounted at the opposite end of the chamber 44 from the opening 52 is a hammer 56 which has a portion 58 which extends through opening 59 and into the chamber 44 a short distance L. The portion 58 is of such a size and shape to allow the hammer 56 to axially slide and be supported in the opening 59 by the portion 58. This hammer 56 is so positioned that when the plunger 48 is moved in the direction of arrow 54 by the magnetic field created by coil 46, the hammer will be forced to move the distance L in the direction of arrow 54. A countersunk portion or second jaw means 60 is provided in the outwardly extending portion of the hammer 56 for receipt of the nut 28 in a manner similar to countersunk portion 30 on the anvil block 24. A groove 62 is provided in the hammer 56 for mating with a motion limiting member 64. This motion limiting member 64 limits the axial movement of the hammer 56.

The arm 50 of-t'he plunger 48 is provided with a bore 66 in which is attached one end of a tension coil spring 68 which resiliently urges the plunger 48 to move in a direction toward the position shown in FIG. 2. This coil spring 68 has the other end attached in a bore 70 in lever 72 of the lock assembly 22. This lever 72 is pivotally attached to the base plate 12 by means of shaft 74 and is resiliently urged to the position shown in FIG. 2 by means of leaf spring 76. The lever 72 extends below the shaft 74 to engage the guide 26 when the arm 72 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 3 by means of the tension exerted on lever 72 by the coil spring 68. This movement of the lever 72 will cause the lever to frictionally engage the guide 26 and lock the same in position with respect to the base plate 12. Thus, it can be seen that the guide 26 and anvil block 24 are free to move except during movement of the plunger 48 in the cracking operation.

In operation, the apparatus is placed on a support surface and a nut is suitably positioned between the countersunk portion on the hammer 56 and the countersunk portion 30 on the anvil block 24. The anvil block 24 is then moved along with the guide 26 until the nut is firmly held between the two countersunk portions. Thereafter the shield 34 is moved in a direction toward the plunger housing 16 until the shield contacts and closes the switch 42 which in turn supplies current to the coil 46. The coil 46 creates a magnetic field which forces the plunger 48 to move in the direction of arrow 54 to strike the portion 58 of the hammer 56 thus causing the hammer 56 to also move in the direction of arrow 54 to the limit set by motion limiting member 64 to crack the nut 28. The motion limiting member 64 can be set as desired to change the desired amount of movement of the hammer 56 to improve the cracking operation. During the movement of the plunger 48, a force is applied to the lever 72 by means of spring 68 which causes the lever 72 to rotate about the pin 74 and frictionally engage the guide 26 to prevent relative movement of the anvil block 24 and plunger housing 16.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relates only to a preferred embodiment of the invention and numerous modifications or alterations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An automatic nut cracker, comprising:

A. first and second jaw means mounted in a cracking zone for contacting a nut,

B. selectively engagable actuator means for forcing said first and second jaw means to move in a direction toward each other to crack a nut,

C. shield means movable into and out of a first position wherein said shield means covers said cracking zone for preventing portions of a nut from being propelled out of said cracking zone, and

D. control means operatively associated with said shield means and said actuator means and responsive to the movement of said shield means to said first position to cause operation of said actuator.

2. An automatic nut cracker as defined in claim 1 wherein said control means is an electrical switch and said actuator means is a solenoid and plunger core.

3. An automatic nut cracker as defined in claim 1 wherein said shield means is transparent to allow viewing of the nut during operation of said cracker. 

1. An automatic nut cracker, comprising: A. first and second jaw means mounted in a cracking zone for contacting a nut, B. selectively engagable actuator means for forcing said first and second jaw means to move in a direction toward each other to crack a nut, C. shield means movable into and out of a first position wherein said shield means covers said cracking zone for preventing portions of a nut from being propelled out of said cracking zone, and D. control means operatively associated with said shield means and said actuator means and responsive to the movement of said shield means to said first position to cause operation of said actuator.
 2. An automatic nut cracker as defined in claim 1 wherein said control means is an electrical switch and said actuator means is a solenoid and plunger core.
 3. An automatic nut cracker as defined in claim 1 wherein said shield means is transparent to allow viewing of the nut during operation of said cracker. 